Supra Odium
by idon'tedit
Summary: Sequel to Futura Furtum. The war is over, but are the battles? Hermione and Severus have gone away to make a life in Australia but will they stay there? What exactly is going on with Dumbledore, and why did he take away so many of Hermione's memories upon her release from Azkaban?
1. Now The Memory's On The Wall

_**Song for this chapter: Don't You Worry Child by Swedish House Mafia**_

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There was a stillness in fenced in backyard that was unbroken by the surrounding neighborhood. Hardly a noise was made by the waving of the grass that had grown a bit long with the lack of attention from the homeowners. It seemed that no one was even living in the house that dusk was slowly settling over, and then out of the blue there were two quick and startling cracking sounds that reverberated back off of the wood of the fence. The sound startled an owl from its resting place in a tree near the kitchen window.

A man and a women, looking bedraggled in their dirt covered cotton clothes, appeared in the wake of the sound. The woman walked hurriedly in front of the man tugging her green button down shirt over her head while he lugged a canvas bag behind him looking for all the world like he wanted to lay down in the grass and sleep.

"I don't know how you can walk so quickly after transcontinental apparition Hermione," he called after her. "I'm exhausted enough to sleep on the back porch."

"Oh Severus, I am beyond tired," she laughed as she straightened out her white tank top that was soaked through with her sweat. "It's only the thought of a nice hot bath to wash away the grime of the Egyptian desert that is keeping me moving right now."

Just as Hermione reached for the door leading into the house the owl that had been startled early swooped back down and fluttered before her trying to deliver a letter tied to its foot. She disregarded the brown feathered bird however and leaned to the side so she could look through the window of the back door.

"No rest for the weary then," she said with a laugh as she looked back at Severus who was just stepping onto the porch. "It looks like the gang couldn't wait to hear about our trip to the pyramids and saw fit to let themselves into the house."

"I bet Sirius is helping himself to the chicken in the fridge," Severus groused as he stepped around her and threw open the door.

"As if I'd touch that rancid pot of slime in there," Sirius said with a laugh as the couple joined them in the kitchen. "Just how long has that questionable chicken been in there anyway?"

"Well… I think we had chicken two days before—" Hermione started to say, but then she had fully entered the kitchen and fell silent when her eyes landed on Sirius.

Lily, James, and Sirius watched her in concern, but Severus seemed unperturbed by the way her eyes began to flash back and forth as if she were rapidly reading a book that they could not see. He calmly walked over and grabbed her elbow delicately; aware of the fact that she sometimes fell over when this happened.

"What is happening to her?" Lily asked softly.

"She is reliving a memory," he explained quietly, his eyes trained on his wife. "As we've rebuilt her occlumentic walls they have slowly begun to be uncovered. They are usually triggered by seeing or hearing something that relates associatively to the memory in question. This one appears to be about Sirius so it's a crap shoot as to whether it will be good or bad."

"Hey, I object to that remark," Sirius said with a mock pout.

"You live that remark twit," Severus said, though his eyes were filled with humor. "You must admit through that the experiences she's had with you in the past are a mixed bag."

_Oh… oh no. No, no, no. That cannot be._

Severus heard the startled whisper of her unguarded thoughts in his mind just before she jerked back. Her eyes locked on Sirius once more, tears welling up in her eyes as she stumbled back and fell onto the kitchen floor just barely missing hitting her head on the island counter.

"I'm sorry," she gasped before she began to cry outright. "I know that doesn't begin to cover it. It was horrible. I understand if you here from some sort of… retribution. Just please leave Severus out of it."

"Shh, Hermione, it's okay," Severus said as he knelt down before her blocking her view of Severus and taking her chin in hand so she would focus entirely on him. "What did you remember?"

"I-I killed them," she stammered with pain etched into every line of her face. "Horrifically. How can you bare to look at me knowing that I've done that? You did know didn't you?"

"I did, and I can still look at you my love because I know why you did it." he whispered, finally releasing the bag he was carrying so he had a free hand to brush the tears from her face. "Did you remember that part?"

Her eyes tracked back and forth once more, much slower this time, as she reviewed the memory.

"She was hurting you. Killing you," she choked out around a hiccough. "And I was wearing a horcrux. I was not in control of myself, not really."

"No, you weren't," Lily said, drawing the couples attention to her. "And who could blame you for that. Your very world was being threatened. You thought you might lose it. Of course you attacked."

"It's not that simply though," Hermione sighed, scrubbing at her own tears as she regained more control of her emotions. "I still took life. I wounded Sirius. I remember the weight of him as I held him up at their funeral. The guilt that was seeping out of my very pores. You cannot possibly have forgiven me for what I have done."

"Admittedly it took me some time to get around the anger," Sirius said, speaking in a much more somber voice than he had been given reason to use in nearly a year. "When I first found out it was you. I was blinded by the rage that I felt, but eventually I was able to see. Yes, murder is wrong, but we were at war and faced with very limited choices because of that. And that is before taking into consideration the impulses that would have been driven entirely out of your control when in possession of a dark artifact."

"Not to mention she was defending a loved one," James said with a slightly defensive edge to his voice. "I'm not condoning murder under any circumstance of course, but when a family is threatened, or devastated by a loss, I think it can be seen as justified. What I mean to say is, Hermione, none of us is holding what you did against you. Bellatrix and Wallburga went in a brutal way, but the world is a better place without them."

"He's right of course," Sirius agreed with a shaky nod. "I imagine what you've just remembered was very traumatic, but I wish you wouldn't think on it. I've moved on from it and you should as well."

"I don't understand how any of you can be so forgiving," Hermione said quietly, pulling her green over-shirt back on as if it could protect her from the emotional exposure she was feeling. "But I'm grateful for it."

"They can be so forgiving because they know you aren't the only one who's done something like that," Lily said carefully causing James to turn to her with a look of panic in his eyes. "And I can, because I've done it."

"What?" Severus asked, blindsided by the revelation that his childhood friend may not be as wholesome as he believed.

"You remember of course that Wormtail was left on display on the grounds of Riddle Manor," she whispered. "But did anyone on the other side ever figure out that it was me who killed him and put him there? After what he did, causing us to lose Harry like that, it was not a merciful killing."

"When would you have even had time to do that?" Severus asked softly. "You were still in hospital when he was discovered."

"I left the hospital wing in the middle of the night," she explained. "I was healed physically, Poppy was keeping an eye on me because of my mental… distress, but she had to sleep sometime. When she had gone to bed, I left the grounds and I went to Peter's home. He hadn't even tried to hide after what he had done. I'm ashamed to admit how easy it was for me to break into his home, brutally murder him, and then hide his body on the grounds of that mansion. I had put him on display, so it would be startling when he was discovered, but then I put a timed disillusionment charm on him so that when he was finally discovered I would have a solid alibi for being somewhere else when he was supposedly dropped there. I'd like to say I did it all in an emotional haze, but I knew exactly what I was doing and I think I would do it again. So it's easy for me to forgive you Hermione."

"I never would have thought it was you," Hermione said softly. "But it should have been you if that makes any sense. What he stole from you… it cannot be replaced. All of my memories of Harry are gone, for now anyway, but Severus told me about how I was friends with him before I fell back through time. He said I cared very much for him, and spoke kindly of him. I think it is safe to say that your son would have been a very good man had he not been struck down so early. I have no compunction in forgiving you either."

"Did you guys know the whole time?" Severus asked Sirius and James. "I'm not angry of course, I hope it isn't coming off that way. It's only that we were at such risk when he thought that I had done it. We tried to pin it on Dumbledore to keep anyone from being hurt."

"Lily didn't tell me until after your trial," James admitted.

"It was a bit of a guilty confession really. " Lily sighed. "When Hermione stood up like that and began confessing to these awful things that were going to get her locked away, I very nearly stood up and joined her. Instead I remained in my seat and waited until after we had gotten Sirius and Severus back to Grimmauld place and then I told James."

"I didn't find out until much later," Sirius shrugged. "I'd have done it myself if I hadn't been so wrapped up in what was going on with Hermione and Severus."

"Well aren't we quite the group," Hermione laughed as she hauled herself up from the floor and reached for the owl that was still hovering indignantly over the group trying to deliver his letter. "I imagine this is a letter telling us you all are coming for a visit."

"Yes, we sent him ahead of us," Lily explained. "Maybe we shouldn't have told him to come to the house. What were you guys doing in Egypt anyway? Marking another destination off your list?"

"Yes," Hermione said with a bright smile overtaking her features. "They Pyramids of Gyza were amazing. We ended up staying much longer than anticipated however, so we could collect rare specimens for the apothecary. I hope that Jenny and her mother didn't try to visit while we were away."

"Ms. Walker always sends her patronus before they come in," Severus reassured her. "That would have reached us and we would have returned don't fret. So are you all here for a social visit, or to try and convince us to return to England yet again."

"Of course we're here to try and get you to move back," Sirius said with a chuckle. "I don't see why you're being so stubborn. The war is long gone, and Hermione no longer has to worry about her name over there. Now that the story has come out about how she worked tirelessly to try and save the wizarding world she's basically a war hero. Only Dumbledore is more popular than her with the general public."

That was likely meant to encourage the couple, but their faces soured quickly at the mention of Dumbledore. Hermione met Severus's gaze with a question in her eyes, but he simply shook his head and grabbed their bag before stomping out of the kitchen. Hermione turned to their guests and smiled apologetically.

"We're both very tired," she sighed. "And being a war hero is something either of us is interested in. We just wanted the war over. Dumbledore can enjoy the stardom for supposedly ending the war all he wants. We have made a life for ourselves here. We have the apothecary, and Severus is nearly at the end of his potions mastery. I've been studying a bit of healing, and of course we have our travels. There isn't anything for us in England."

"What are we, chopped liver?" Sirius laughed. "You have friends in England. Do you have any of those here?"

"We have made friends with many of our clients." Hermione said with a smile. "They aren't as close as the type of friendship you develop when you fight in a war with someone by any means, but they have meaning for us. You understand don't you? We wouldn't ask you guys to move to Australia for us."

"I just don't get it," Sirius said with a shrug. "Why Australia?"

"It's hard to explain why we came, since it I still haven't regained all of my memories I'm certain I'm missing something," she explained. "Severus tells me I mentioned sending my parents here, but that was nearly 20 years in the future, so I think there must be something else that drew me here."

"Assuming it wasn't just Dumbledore implanting the urge to get as far away from him as possible." Sirius grumbled. "I still don't like the idea of leaving him completely unchecked in England."

"He doesn't have some master evil plot," James interjected. "I know that you believe he is a necromancer, and we haven't fought you on that point, but he hasn't done anything to indicate that he has sinister motives. Is that the real reason you want them to come back?"

"No," Sirius argued. "Admittedly I would sleep better at night, but the real reason I want them to come back is because I miss them. We became good friends with everything we went through, and I hate that I have to register for an international portkey if I want to drop by for tea."

"Look, we'll think about coming back at some point in the future," Hermione conceded. "But not right now. You're always welcome to come spend some time with us here though. Heck, there is even a house for sale just up the street, you could become our neighbor if you wanted."

"He hasn't been off of probation for acting against orders to get a convicted necromancer out of Azkaban… now probably isn't the time to try and get a recommendation to transfer." Lily pointed out.

"They really put you on probation for that?" Hermione groused. "Dumbledore did all the leg work."

"I think it's that patronus I got in trouble for to be honest," Sirius laughed. "Proudfoot was questioned under oath he had to tell them about the protocols I violated. Besides, I've always been a bit of a bad boy. The probation was good for my reputation with the ladies."

"Oh don't get started with that bit again," James cut him off. "Look, we have to get back so we can get a decent amount of sleep before going into work in the morning. We registered for two additional international portkeys that can be used between now and the end of the week if you guys change your mind. We really do wish that you'd come home, but we understand if you decide to stay. If nothing else, we'll see you guys in a few months when we all go on that vacation in Saipan."

"It was good to see you all, despite all the dramatics," Hermione said, giving them each a quick yet fierce hug. "I'll write you all about our trip once I've had a bit of rest."

Hermione stayed in the kitchen long enough to watch them walk out into the backyard and apparate away. She cast a locking charm on the backdoor and began peeling her soiled shirt off once more as she walked further into the house without bothering to turn on any lights despite the growing darkness.

"Severus please tell me you've already started a shower," she called as she navigated around the living room furniture and made her way to the stairs.

"Obviously," he called, and she just made out his voice over the sound of running water as she climbed the stairs. "If you hurry I'll have time to wash your hair before I fall asleep standing up."


	2. Corruption Never Has Been Compulsory

**a/n: it's not very long, but early establishing chapters rarely ever are.**

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_**Song for this chapter: 99 Red Balloons by Goldfinger**_

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**SBPOV**

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I had really hoped to convince Hermione and Severus to come back to England with us, so I was not exactly pleased to be coming home without them. My relationship with Lily, James, and Remus had improved vastly once my somewhat insane suspicions about them had gone by the way side, but they had been altered somewhat by the friendship I had built with Severus and Hermione. It was a strange feeling to realize that when I felt wary of the changes I saw taking place in our world, it was not to my childhood friends that I wanted to run. It was to the couple that had become my trench mates in a nasty war. Our friendship was forged in fire, and there was a deep level or trust there that I doubt could be shaken.

Of course that made me want them back even more when I stepped out of the oddly silent international portkey port and into the bustling corridors of the and was almost immediately confronted with a big poster adorning the wall announcing a brand new law. I stopped dead in my tracks staring at the bold face heading, letting Lily and James walk off without me, as I tried to comprehend the meaning of a marriage law. There was more text on the poster, most likely explaining what it was, but my mind seemed to be stuck on that headline.

"Excuse me," I said, reaching out to grab the arm of the first ministry official that went to pass me in the hall. "Could you tell me more about this?"

The woman looked startled to have been grabbed by me, but quickly schooled her features and tucked a bit of her curly black hair behind her ear before offering me a smile. She blushed as she met my gaze, and I wondered if she was going to try and flirt with me.

"The new marriage law went through final approval via the Wizengamot last night and was announced earlier this morning," she explained. "People are lining up in the atrium for registration."

"What exactly does it mean though?" I pushed.

"Well I'm sure you noticed that the English wizarding population was greatly affected by the War against the Death Eaters," she pointed out as she momentarily looked away from me. "The law is requiring that all eligible single witches and wizards between the age of majority and fifty register as prospective partners so they can be paired up. I'm still a little lost on the wording, so I don't know if we are immediately require to have children, or if there is some sort of time line to it."

"That's barbaric," I argued, unable to wrap my mind around the idea. "Minister Scrimgeour approved this?"

"He was the one to propose the law," she explained. "And it's my understanding that Albus Dumbledore was defending it in the hearing before the Wizengamot so it was pretty well guaranteed to pass wasn't it? The only thing they could have done to add to it's success would be to have Hermione speak out in favor as well, but she's become quite the recluse since her story was told hasn't she?"

"Wouldn't you if you were in her position?" I said a bit more argumentatively than the situation necessarily called for. "I just cannot believe this would be passed. It takes away people's freedom. It's arranged marriage, and if I wanted one of those I would have let my mother barter me off to another pureblooded family. I cannot believe that I voted for Scrimgeour to replace Bagnold when she retired!"

"I'm sorry that it makes you so angry," she said somewhat skittishly. "I don't think it's all that bad when you think about it. The registration includes and in-depth personality assessment and a section where you share what your career and familial goals. They will be analyzed by multiple ministry employees and people will be matched up based on how successful their marriage should be. It seems like it would be more successful than dating actually."

"It doesn't bother you that you wouldn't get to choose?" I asked her. "That you will be spending the rest of your life with someone that you could end up hating?"

"You could end up hating someone you picked yourself," she argued. "My parents have a truly awful marriage before they were killed, and hated to spend time with one another. They were not part of an arranged marriage."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" I hedged. "Maybe it isn't the worst thing in the world. I am just shocked is all. I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Marlene McKinnon," she said with an airy little laugh. "We went to Hogwarts together but you might not remember me as I was in Hufflepuff. I actually considered joining the Order with the rest of you, but with everything that happened with my family I'm not ashamed to admit that I left England for a short time."

Her name felt like a punch to my stomach. The McKinnon family had been slaughtered. Marlene had been lucky to be away at the time of the attack, though I doubted she felt that way losing her family in one fell swoop. Perhaps if I were in her position I would be eager to start a new family as well.

"I think I might have left the country if I had been in your place," I finally managed to say.

"I thought you might actually," she said with a sad smile. "I remember reading about your own family in the paper."

"We were estranged," I said with a shrug that was meant to imply that I didn't care.

"That doesn't matter much in the end does it?" she said. "I have an appointment to complete my own registration so I've got to get going. It's compulsory you know, so everyone is here for it, but those of us that work for the ministry can arrange to fill out our paperwork up on the third floor with someone in the wizarding records department rather than down in the atrium with everyone else. You should make an appointment."

"I'll think about it," I nodded. "For now I really ought to catch up with my friends."

"Well it was nice to officially meet you Sirius," she said, and I wondered if it should be odd that she new exactly who I was before remembering that my own face had been in the paper more than once.

"You as well Marlene," I said, giving her a quick nod before I hurried off in the direction that Lily and James had gone.

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Remus was sitting at the table holding a cup of tea in his hands, and looking haggard but in fairly good spirits. Last night would have marked the waning of the moon so he should not shift again tonight, but even without the negative effects that were suppressed by the wolfsbane it was still very tiring for him.

"I suppose I should feel good that I have been included in a law that affects all of wizard kind here in England," he said with a sardonic smile. "But I'm still categorized as something other than human aren't I? Granted, I would not wish the life of being married to a werewolf on any witch that was not already afflicted, so it's for the best."

"You don't have to register," I argued as I got up from the table to retrieve more biscuits.

"It's compulsory," he pointed out.

"I don't care," I snipped. "It's wrong, and they cannot make this happen. Something will come up… the Wizengamot will discuss it again… something. They cannot throw every person who does not wish to marry into Azkaban, it would only increase the population issue they say they are trying to fix."

"If only a few people object…" Remus hedged. "That's not so many people in Azkaban. Certainly not enough to warrant taking it back before the Wizengamot."

"I'm not sure I believe it every really did," I huffed. "I mean really. How is it we heard nothing before now? This law seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. One minute everything is fine, then we take a short trip to Australia and the entire world goes to hell."

"I know you're angry Sirius," he said tiredly. "But I agree with James and Lily. Dumbledore would not get behind this if it was not going to help the country."

"Are we sure?" I pushed. "It must benefit him some way, but I just can't see it."

"I wish you wouldn't assume the worst in him," he argued. "Yes, he took to many memories from Hermione, but mind magic is tricky and that could have been an accident. I don't think he is the evil master mind you are making him out to be."

"Maybe you're right," I lied, not wanting to argue with an old friend over something that he wasn't going to change his mind about anyway. "I'm not ready to get married Remus. I still want to chase skirts, and spend too much time in the pub. I mean honestly are you ready to settle down and start having children? We've barely been out of Hogwarts that long."

"I don't know, I really don't," he admitted. "Though I guess I'm already used to sleepless nights, may as well add and infant to the mix."

"You're insane you really are," I laughed as I sat down with the tin of biscuit and picked out a jammy dodger. "When are you going in to register?"

"Tomorrow morning," he told me. "I wish you'd come with me. You could lose your job over this you know."

"Honestly, I'm not even sure I want to be an auror anymore anyway," I shrugged. "So if I lose that job over standing up for what I think is right, so be it."

Remus shook his head at me and stood from the table to go wash his empty tea cup. I could imagine so many things that were probably running through his head. I knew he had more arguments to try and convince me to comply, but I appreciated that he did not share them. Once gain I was forced to acknowledge that valley that had grown between us. Prior to everything that happened I probably would have agreed with him easily. I would be going in the next morning to register right along-side him. Maybe I should just move to Australia.


	3. We Just Wanna Be Right Now

_**a/n: Alright, I admit it, the shortness of this one is just laziness. I wanted to keep up the tradition of posting a chapter on my birthday, like I've done every year that I've been on , but I also just really didn't feel like doing anything today...**_

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_**Song for this chapter: Burn by Ellie Goulding**_

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**SPOV**

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"Wake up sleepy head," Hermione's voice called to me, and as much as it was my favorite voice in the world I did not want to hear it for at least another few hours.

"Not yet," I grumbled, flopping over and pulling the sheet over my head in an effort to ward her off.

"We've got to open the shop in thirty minutes Severus," she chirped pulling the sheet away. "And you said you need to get those African Violet petals into the new potion you're working on right away."

"It can wait until tomorrow," I pointed out, finally opening my eyes to see Hermione standing at the side of the bed with a cup of coffee and a smile that was far too cheery for how tired I knew she had to be feeling as well. "I'm still wiped from the time change, can't we just have a lazy day?"

"You can if you want," she shrugged taking a sip of the coffee. "I'm already up, so I'm going to head in, and I'm going to drink your coffee since you're not getting out of bed."

"Never steal a man's coffee," I said with a chuckle as I rolled out of bed and reached for the cup.

"I knew that would work," she laughed, easily relinquishing the cup. "I got a patronus, so I'm going to head in to meet Jenny, but after that I want to tell you all about what I remembered this morning when I was putting on my bathrobe."

"Another memory came forward?" I questioned before what she said hit me. "And it was tied to your bathrobe?"

"Well it's pink isn't it?" she said as if that made any sense at all and flounced out of the room.

I shook my head in amusement as I thought about the very strange way in which her memories were returning. I was grateful that they were retuning at all. The first few months, when nothing happened despite how much work we put into building her occlumentic walls again, nothing was forth coming. Then all of a sudden they just started appearing. The very first one had been shocking and had brought on its fair share of tears. We'd been walking into the house after dinner out and I had casually tossed my jack over the back of the couch, instantly earning a rebuke from Hermione.

It wasn't the rebuke that had startled me and made her cry, it was that she immediately followed it up with 'my mother always had to yell at my father about that.' Then she had dissolved into tears that had taken awhile to get under control but once she had begun to calm she started telling me stories about moments with her parents. It was clear there were still a lot of holes, but suddenly she could remember a handful of Christmas dinners, family gatherings, and one camping trip.

I was somewhat embarrassed to admit that it was excitement over finding out what she remembered that got me up and running for the day not running my own business or working on my potions mastery. Granted both of those things were important to me; the apothecary was really starting to take off, and I was very nearly done with my potions mastery, but Hermione's memories coming back felt like a gift after everything the war had taken. Needless to say I wanted to know what she'd remembered so I downed my coffee and made a beeline for the shower.

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"Okay so I was synching up the tie on my robe, and then suddenly it wasn't our bathroom I was seeing." She explained from the other side of the workbench while I stirred the African Violet petals into the cauldron. "I was looking down at my own hands, though they were much smaller, as they shook in front of a different pink bathrobe. I was remembering a memory from my first year at Hogwarts where Harry, Ron, and I nearly got killed by three headed dog."

"What in the world?" I questioned.

"We had inadvertently discovered the entrance to where the Sorcerer's Stone was buried, she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But that was the tip of something bigger. I remember everything from having gone to Hogwarts now. I remember befriending the boys, and all of the adventures we went on. I remember being in your class too, which is sort of trippy now. I remember all of the six year I was at Hogwarts, at least the time I was at Hogwarts anyway."

"That's wonderful," I said, setting the stirring rod aside so I could open my arms to her.

She didn't disappoint, she ran around the bench and flew into my arms. It was wonderful to see her become more and more whole as the memories that were stolen from her finally started to come back to her. Each time she gained a new memory she seemed to become brighter, and with each bright smile she erased a little more of my memory of the shell of a woman that had inhabited my home for too long after the war.

"I feel like I'm really close to remembering everything," she whispered into the skin of my neck. "Except for the necromancy stuff which I'm not trying to remember, all that seems to be left is my childhood, the breaks into between each year of school and whatever happened when I should have been in my seventh year of school."

"Do you still encounter empty shelves in the library that you built?" I asked as she pulled away and moved to the side motioning for me to return to my potion.

"No, it seems different now," she mused, looking off into space. "It's like the entire library is there, but now there are areas that aren't lit properly. Like a few lamps have gone out, and if I could just repair them I would be able to see everything."

"We can work on that this evening," I mused as I took he potion off the flame and began to stir again. "There has to be a way to navigate that change."

"I'm sure there is, but I don't want to work on it tonight," she said with a smile. "I have so much reading to do. Sarah took Jenny to the muggle doctors again and they finally gave her a diagnosis, but is isn't anything I've ever heard of so I'd like to spend tonight doing research."

"What is it that they think she has?" I asked finishing with the potion and letting it begin to cool while I looked for a decanter to put it into.

"It's CRPS, or complex regional pain syndrome," she explained. "I want to know more about what it is, though I can infer quite a bit from her symptoms, but I also want to know if it has ever occurred in the magical community before. There might be a cure out there already that I just don't know about."

"We've both already done numerous searches for illnesses fitting her symptoms," I pointed out. "I really don't think anyone in the magical community has had it before."

"Well I'm determined to find something for her," Hermione groused. "Even if I have to cave in and take her to a magical hospital despite the fact that she and her mother want nothing to do with staying in the hospital again."

"It seems like a silly point to make a stand on when she's suffering so much pain," I sighed as I began decanting the finished potion.

"She wants Jenny to have a quality of life that extends beyond the walls of a hospital," Hermione explained as if that made perfect sense. "The last time she took her to a magical hospital she was cooped up in there for six months. They wouldn't let her go outside, she couldn't play, she was miserable. She's only six Severus, she needs to be a kid."

"Even if it means being in excruciating pain?" I questioned.

"We've been able to lower that somewhat, and today was her first attack in a month, so that's progress," Hermione pouted.

"Okay, you're right," I submitted. "This is finally finished. I should floo call Remus."

"Wait is that Wolfsbane?" Hermione said, her eyes lighting up with curiosity. "Since when does it call for African Violets?"

"The original recipe doesn't," I admitted with a smirk. "However, if my calculations are correct rather than just helping him keep his human mind, this version of the potion should also instill a sense of calm in him and allow him to sleep through the night as if he hadn't just turned into a furry fur legged monster."

"When did you start doing Wolfsbane experiments?" she asked me. "When were you going to tell me that you were doing them?"

"Honestly? I didn't really want to tell you until I was successful." I admitted sheepishly. "But I think this could be a real step forward so I guess it's alright that you know. As for when did I start… not long after you… woke up. Remus was very supportive while I struggled to bring you back out of your mind. Besides if I'm going to be friends with the blasted Marauders, then I should probably really be a friend right?"

"So what are you trying to do with the potion?" she asked rather than commenting on the massive change of heart I had finally shared with her.

"Iwantocurelycanthrope," I told her in a rush.

"I'm sorry what?" she pushed, worming her way closer.

"I said I want to cure lycanthrope," I sighed, not meeting her gaze.

I was surprised when she pulled me into a hug. Did she understand that only part of my motivations was related to Remus. Sure I could help him, but I could also make a huge name for myself right out of obtaining my mastery. Not to mention working on experimental potion gained me quite a bit of credit from Slughorn. He had backed off on sending me a lot of potion requests that I knew were only so he could get out of brewing for the hospital wing so that I would have more time to focus on work that we both felt was important. Granted he probably saw more value in being able to claim me as his student after I did something like that than he saw in curing lycanthrope.

"I'm really proud of you Severus," she whispered into the fabric of my shirt. "This is really huge. You know that don't you?"

I just shrugged, but for now that seemed to be enough for her. She just squeezed me a bit tighter before releasing me. She grabbed the nearest piece of parchment and handed it to me so I could start penning a letter to Remus. I mentally shook of the familiar feeling of wanting nothing to do with Remus and set to work writing him a letter to tell him what I thought this new batch of Wolfsbane should do, and reminding him once again to make detailed notes about how the change went and send it back to me.


	4. Fear Pulls Him Out to Sea

_**A/N: Three Weeks Later, a bit of a jump forward in the story, which I don't usually do, but it seemed more interesting to go this way then to write a chapter covering over and over what they do every day when nothing supremely interesting is taking place.**_

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_**A/N 2: I know it's been a long wait for this chapter... and it will probably be a long wait for the next one. I apologize and hope you all will be patient. While I have the story mapped out I also have a battle raging currently with the worse case of writer's block I've ever encountered. Case in point, I've been trying to write this chapter since about 30 minutes after I posted the last one. I promise I will not be abandoning this story, but for awhile the chapters may be further apart from one another than any of us would like.**  
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_**Song for this chapter: Coming of Age by Foster the People**_

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**HPOV**

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The morning was hot already when I woke up. It was a strange sensation, but everyone in a while I was genuinely disappointed not to wake up to a cloudy and rain filled day. It really didn't rain here very often at all. I rolled over to share my desire for rain with Severus and saw that he was already up for the day.

"Severus?" I called as I rolled out of bed, casting a tempus to see that it was almost nine already. "I know it's a Saturday, but why did you let me sleep so late?"

I followed the smell of bacon when I didn't get an answer and I found Severus in the kitchen humming to himself as he cooked breakfast. I couldn't help but stand in the doorway and just watch him. He would probably be embarrassed to know that someone was watching him dancing with a spatula while he hummed _Crazy Little Thing Called Love_ to himself. When the bacon made a particularly loud pop and he spun around to take care of it he spotted me in the doorway and dropped the spatula all together.

"Good morning," I said with a smile. "You let me sleep late."

"It's the weekend," he shrugged as he scoop the spatula up off the counter and returned to the bacon. "Besides I was going to make you breakfast in bed. So you needed to still be in bed."

"Well I wouldn't want to ruin that plan," I laughed. "I'll go hop back in bed."

His laughter followed me all the way back to the bedroom, and it took me a surprisingly long time to put together that was because he was following me. However when I flopped onto the bed I saw him standing in the doorway with a plate of food and a pleased smile on his face.

"That was quick," I said.

"I'm a wizard," he laughed as he brought me the plate. "I was thinking we could go to the beach today before you're inevitably drawn back to your healing books and I lose you to the world of academia for and indeterminate amount of time."

"I'd almost think you were angry with me," I said around a bite of eggs. "But you're the same way with your potions, so that can't be right."

"No I'm not angry," he admitted. "I just find myself feeling a bit… clingy today."

"It has been weeks of both of us just working away," I said as I patted the spot on the bed next me. "We've hardly taken a moment just for us. Let's have a lazy day today."

"I'd like that," he agreed as he nuzzled my neck.

"You're going to make me get breakfast all over the bed," I pointed out as I squirmed away.

"Perhaps I could be persuaded to stop with a piece of bacon," he said.

I plucked a piece of bacon off of the plate and pretended to fly it to his mouth like a plan. Something I remembered my mother doing when I was very young. He softly grabbed my wrist and slowed the movement of my hand to a stop so he could nibble at the bacon I held. I couldn't help but laugh when he quickly devoured it and moved on to suckling at my bacon grease coated fingers. My laughed cut off with a sigh when he instead kissed them palm of my hand and began to slowly work a trail up the inside of my wrist with those delectable lips.

"I suppose I could be persuaded to spend part of the day in bed" I hedge as I allowed him to push me gently back into a reclined position.

"I thought you might," he said with a deep chuckle before waving his hand dismissively and causing the plate of food to swoop over and land on the dresser and out of our way.

Severus was more than compliant when I reached to pull his tshirt over his head, and I couldn't help but to groan a bit when I ran my hands down his torso. Simply working on potions and running the apothecary shouldn't give him a toned physique and yet it did. And oh did I love to look at it.

"You must be awfully distracted," he chuckled into the skin of my neck as he leaned into me once again. "I can hear all your musings about how much you like to look at me."

"How couldn't I be distracted," I whispered.

I had intended to tell him all sorts of naughty thoughts I had about how much I liked looking at him but then my attention was drawn away from him all together. Instead I became focused on the patronus that flew gracefully through our bedroom window and settled on the foot of my bed. It was the first time I could recall feeling irritated by the appearance of the ethereal little Joey.

The baby kangaroo was content to watch me expectantly while I frowned at Severus and handed him his shirt back, but only that. The longer I took to get up and get going the more active the patronus got. Soon I had an agitated little Joey bouncing around on the foot of my bed and my irritation began to transition into concern. I wished that Ms. Walker had been able to grasp the ability to make her patronus talk so I would have a better idea of what I should expect to be waiting at the door of the apothecary when I got there.

"Okay, I'm coming," I said quietly before turning to Severus. "Rain check?"

"I'll be here waiting," he said, offering me a placating smile as he took possession of the breakfast plate.

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When I arrived at the apothecary I was immediately hit with the sound of pained crying that made me feel guilty for even a moment's hesitation. Jenny was a tough child, and she would frequently visit me at a level of pain that would bring me to my knees and she would only silently shed tears. The fact that she was audibly crying meant that she entered into a whole new realm of pain. So either the potions she had been taking had suddenly stopped working altogether, or the medicine the muggle doctor had put her on was causing some sort of issue. I hurried over and knelt down beside Jenny, and Ms. Walker immediately shifted to the side so I could better see her. She was curled into a ball, covered in sweat, and rather than looking flushed like she usually did when she was in a high level of pain she was extremely pale.

"This is different than what usually happens," I said, fully aware of the fact that I was stating the obvious. "It is unlikely that it is the potions failing and more likely an issue with the new medication she was given. Do you remember what it was?"

"It was a shot of something that starts with a B," she said distractedly as she began searching through her purse for something. "They said it should stop the muscle spasms in her upper back and neck, which would relieve the pain she is experiencing"

"How recently did they give her the shot?" I asked drawing my wand so I could levitate Jenny into the shop, having learned ages ago that when she was like this even a gentle touch to move her would cause excruciating pain.

"She had the first shot yesterday afternoon," Ms. Walker explained as she produced a piece of paper with medical information on it. "Botulinum Toxin injections, that's what they gave her."

"Botulinum…" I said as I simultaneously unlocked the shop and maneuvered Jenny inside. "That's Botox isn't it? For facelifts?"

"Yes, they said it can be used for cosmetic procedures," she said as she followed me into the shop and closed the door behind us. "But it is supposed to be safe for CRPS. They said they use it all the time."

"I think botox is made of the bacteria that causes food poisoning," I thought out loud as I cast a spell to allow Jenny to hover comfortably over the counter so I could get a better look at her without causing her pain from lying on a hard surface. "Has there been any vomiting?"

"Yes," Ms. Walker said, her voice jumping up in pitch. "Did they make her sicker?"

"So she looks pretty feverish, she's covered in sweat, she's been vomiting," I pointed out. "It looks like her body did not interpret the injection as a potential treatment as it was meant to. Instead it took it for what it was, food poisoning. Then the stress of a sudden and unpleasant illness caused her to have an episode, which is only being exacerbated by the fact that she's still sick. We've got to deal with the food poisoning before we can deal with the CRPS. And she cannot have one of those shots again."

"No, no, of course not," she said, sounding like she was about to start crying as well.

"Why don't you try and comfort her, while I get in contact with Severus," I said softly. "I can't start treating the pain until I deal with this, so she's going to be suffering for a little while longer."

Ms. Walker focused on trying to sooth Jenny, and I went over to the fire place and threw in a bit of floo powder before dropping down onto the hearth, sticking my head in, and calling out my own address.

"Severus?" I called as my eyes roved over the empty living room.

"Hermione?" his confused voice called out as he rounded in from the kitchen drying his hands on a dish towel. "Is everything alright?"

"It's… complicated this time," I sighed. "Do you have any potions here that would help with food poisoning?"

"How could Jenny pick up food poisoning," he asked coming to crouch in front of the fire place. "Her mother has more control over her food intake than a general over an army."

"It's an unexpected side effect from a questionable treatment," I sighed. "She was injected with a toxin that should have relaxed the muscle and stopped the painful spasms. Instead she contract food poisoning, and the stress of the illness drove her episode to an entirely new level of pain. I can't even begin to deal with that until she stops being sick however."

"Out in the main shop there is a potion for the stomach flu its bright green give her that," he said as he stared at ceiling while thinking to himself. "Also give her a pepper up potion to deal with the residual effects. If those two don't work floo call me again and I will come in and try to brew something else."

"Thanks," I told him with a quick smile before breaking our floo connection.

The crying seemed so much louder with my head back in the shop, but I didn't stop to try and sooth Jenny. Instead I hustled out into the main shop and grabbed the two potions in question so I could hurry back to her. I could see that it hurt her when I put my hand on the back of her neck to tilt her into position to give her the potions, but she was tough and she fought to hold back her tears and be compliant.

"Alright here we go," I told her soft as I uncorked the first vial. "I'm sure it will taste awful, but I promise to give you a treat later if you don't vomit all over my brand new shirt."

I waited for her weak chuckle to stop before tipping the stomach flu potion to her lips. Based on the way her brow contracted I suspected it tasted even worse than I had assumed, but she didn't complain. I followed it quickly with the pepper up potion before banishing the empty bottles to the sink in the corner.

"Now you look like a tea pot," I told her with a smile. "Give it a minute and then tell me how you're feeling okay?"

The shop seemed almost eerily quiet now that she wasn't crying. I could hear the shaky breathing from Mrs. Walker as she tried to calm herself, but Jenny was suddenly very quiet. No tears, no ragged breathing, no wincing. She seemed at least to the ears to be completely okay now, but I knew that her episodes never passed that quickly. Instead it seemed that her pain had at least been dulled to a level that she was able to tolerate once more. It was simultaneously comforting to know she was not in extreme pain anymore and disheartening to be confronted with the fact that she was used to being in this level of pain.

"Alright, what's your number?" I asked her.

"Three," she said, her voice still sounding a little stuffy despite the absence of her tears.

"So we'll assume it's a five then," I told her with a quirked brow, and she had the good sense to look guilty for lying, again.

"I think in the wake of a new treatment going so horribly wrong I'd like to fall back on an old fail safe," I said, turning to look at Mrs. Walker instead. "I am going to send you home with a muscle relaxing potion, a pain relief potion, and a sleeping potion. Have her eat some dinner to get some nutrition back into her system after all the vomiting then give her the potions. She's going to sleep for about 36 hours, and she should wake up pain free. Either way I'd like you guys to come back and see me so we can talk about what our next move with be."

"Can we get Vegimite Momma?" Jenny asked as I magically maneuvered her out of the position she had been hovering in and onto her feet next to her mother.

"Of course we can," she soothed, delicately taking her daughter's hand while I bagged up the potions for her. "Thank you Mrs. Snape. Really."

"You know I don't expect you to fall over yourself to thank me every time we meet," I told her in a hushed voice as I handed her the bag of supplies. "We both just want Jenny to get better."

"How much do I owe you for all the potions?" she asked trying to maneuver for her purse without a free hand.

"We'll talk about it when you come back to see me in two days," I told her with a shrug. "For now just worry about Jenny."

"Thank you," she said again as she lead Jenny out toward the front door.

"You're welcome Mrs. Walker," I said with a tired wave.

I stayed behind long enough to make sure everything was locked up, and to clean up the slight mess I had made in the back room before apparating back home.

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Severus was in the back yard working in the garden full of potion ingredient when I got home. I took a moment to simply enjoy the view of his muscles rippling, quite pleased with the fact that he'd chosen to wear a tank top. Of course his heightened sense quickly told him he was being watched and he stopped pulling weeds and turned to look at me. He quickly brushed his hands off on his pants and came over to pull me into his arms.

"I'm sorry it was so bad this time," he consoled me, and I took a moment to just breathe the scent of him deep into my lungs.

"I shouldn't be so affected," I rationalized. "It's silly."

"We've talked about this a thousand times Hermione, it's okay to connect with a child who is inexplicably the spitting image of you," he whispered into my hair. "It's okay to connect with the upsetting knowledge that she looks like she could be your child, despite the fact that you cannot have children."

"You know, I still don't remember anything about those treatments I told you about that would have made it impossible for us to have children," I sighed. "Are you sure I didn't just tell a lie?"

"If you'd been lying, I'd have probably gotten you pregnant by now," he said with a sad laugh. "You remember of course all the unprotected s—"

The rest of what he was going to say was cut off when he stopped to stare at the owl that had just flown into our yard. It was Sirius's owl that was easy to see, but he looked ragged. That owl looked like Sirius had told it to fly here immediately without taking any time to rest. So I assumed the letter was not bearing good news. I stepped away and put my hand out. The owl immediately dropped his letter into my hand before flying through the open back door and landing tiredly on the kitchen counter.

"I'll go get him some water and something to eat," Severus told me, though his eyes were lingering on the letter with a worried look on his face.

I followed distractedly behind him as I broke the seal on the envelope. I felt as apprehensive as he did with the haggard owl that was now sitting in our kitchen, and the haphazard hand writing on the parchment in front of me did nothing to soothe my nerves. Something had obviously upset Sirius, and those feelings had spilled over into his hand writing.

_Hermione and Severus,_

_I know, I know, the last thing you want to hear or see I suppose, is yet another request from me that you return to London. But I have to ask. I cannot in good conscious not request that the couple who is primarily responsible for the last war ending not to come back when I fear there is another one brewing. As someone who fought alongside you to stop the Death Eaters it might sound odd to have this coming from me, but the Anti-Death Eater movement is a bit too extreme._

_As I've mentioned previously the climate her in England is changing. I've told you of many changes that have already occurred, but I did not tell you that a marriage law has recently been instated. They are forcing everyone to register and be paired off to bread like cattle. I have refused to register, and so far I have also managed not to face any sort of prosecution for that. Yet many others are facing prosecution._

_Witches and wizards who have already been verified as having been under the influence of the imperio curse are being sent off to Azkaban after trials that are closed to everyone but the Wizengamot. That enough is troubling, but the new laws that have been put into effect to suppress the rise of another dark regime are putting more than just dark wizards at risk._

_In the last two weeks four different Hogwarts students were arrested for borderline dark spells. They were reported by peers that are afraid of being arrested themselves or staff members that agree with the laws, and then carted off to the ministry in the dead of night while any faculty that might wish to help them is helpless to stop it. Each one of them was sentences, and not favorably, and are only back at Hogwarts because Dumbledore posted bail and took on the legal role of guardian meets parole officer so they can complete their education. These students are just the first of many as the laws get more and more refined. Soon it will be illegal to have a harmless duel in a corridor._

_Something is seriously wrong here, and I think Dumbledore is behind it. I haven't yet put together what he would stand to gain from having his students arrested or forcing the community to start producing new life that will have no interaction whatsoever with dark magic, but he has to have some sort of motive. So I'm begging at this point. Come back to England. Don't even live in London, that's fine. Return to the cottage, but be here for when this all blows up in our faces. I need you here._

_Sirius_

I read it twice before handing the letter to Severus. His brow knitted together in concern as he read the letter, but eventually he just set it on the counter and looked at me with a tired expression. I could understand his sentiment without him even saying I out loud, and I was tempted open our mental connection to tell him so, but somehow I felt that this conversation needed to happen out loud.

"I think he is reading more into the changing climate than he needs to," I said. "The issues with the students is disconcerting, but I don't think it indicates that there is a war brewing again."

"I think he is probably right that there is some justification for Dumbledore to do this to make himself look better with the public," Severus sighed. "But these students aren't being carted off to Azkaban and they did have to use dark magic to get themselves into this position."

"The arrests seem to be an issue as well," I pointed out. "But there's nothing we could do to stop that from happening. Our return to England would likely inflame the situation as we would immediately make people think of the war once more."

"I don't think we should go," he said with a sigh. "We have a life here. We fought our war already. He should leave England if he is so concerned that a war is going to break out."

"I agree." I nodded. "I'll write him back to that effect."


End file.
